


Lights We Burn

by imaginesakura



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Romance, F/M, Friendship, Haruno Sakura-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-08-27 13:22:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8403238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginesakura/pseuds/imaginesakura
Summary: 'This child, would be a reminder of the life she never got the chance to have. She would be a reminder of the mistakes she'd made in the past but most of all, she'd be a constant reminder of the guilt, regret, sadness and self-hatred she felt...'
"You'll see! I'll become stronger than all of you and when I do, I'll beat your asses into the ground!"
"I want t-to pr-protect my little sister too. I want to… to be someone she can look up to."
A fateful encounter. A hidden Secret. A new resolve.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Lights We Burn
> 
> I do not own Naruto.

Did you lose what won't return?

Did you love but never learn?

The fires out but still it burns

And no one cares, there's no one there

Did you find it hard to breathe?

Did you cry so much that you could barely see?

In the darkness all alone

And no one cares, there's no one there

Well, did you see the flares in the sky?

(Flares, The script)

 

* * *

 

The sound of thunder rumbled in the distance as rain pelted down on the group of shinobi gathered beside their fallen comrade. The colour red dyed the ground before small streams of water washed it away.

A blonde haired shinobi leaned on her knees, bent over the grey haired man's bleeding form while a green chakra engulfed her hands.

"Dan!" She cried out as tears cascade down her face only to be merged with the crying heavens.

"Tsu…nade…" The man tried to speak. "I don'… want-to… die yet… There're… so… things… I haven'… accomplish..." He spluttered as blood dripped from the corners of his mouth.

"Stop talking Dan!" She pleaded heartbroken while silently praying to the gods to save him.

"I'll save you." She said to herself as she tried to heal him. He was all she had left.

She'd already watched her parents and the rest of her family die. Her uncles, aunts and cousins. They were all dead. And her younger brother…Nawaki… She hadn't been there to save him. They'd all left her. She couldn't lose him too. 'We are supposed to be forever.'

"I…can't… die… here..." The man choked out despite his lovers pleading.

He'd promised her. They'd go home together. To Konoha. Where they'd finally get married and have children who'd inherit Tsunade's blonde hair and his green eyes or his grey hair and her brown eyes. Maybe even have one of both. And one day, he'd become Hokage and they'd protect the village together and watch over the next generation. And when the time came, he'd pass on the position so he could retire and grow old with his beloved.

It wasn't right, this wasn't supposed to happen. There was still so much he wanted to do and so much he needed to say. 'Tsunade, I…'

"It's alright! I've stopped the bleeding. It's going to be alright! You'll be saved Dan!" She lied to him, hoping that by saying those words he'd live. But he could hear the crack in her voice as she spoke to him. They both knew the truth and there wasn't anything they could do, he was too far gone.

The cry of his name brought him back to the present and he tried to focus his now blurry vision on the woman above him. The corners of his lips lifted into a small smile as he remembered the times he'd spent with her over the past year. He loved her and all of her stubbornness and temper but also her kindness and insecurities. But knowing that his end was coming, he was glad that she was there beside him.

"Really…That's…great." He said trying to reassure her as his eyes began to close and the sounds of the world began to fade around him.

"Dan!" She cried out as the rain washed the tears from her face while she tried to bring the man she loved back from the dead. "Damned death… Stop… Stop... Stop… Stop. Dammit! I'm telling you to stop!"

"Dan! You can't leave me!" She yelled at him as the green glow of her hands grew larger. "Please… Please… Please… Dan…" She sobbed.

"That's enough already! He's dead!" A nearby shinobi shouted, no longer able to watch one of the legendary Sannin fall apart at the sight of her dead lover.

Slowly but surely the green glow of her chakra began to recede as lightning flashed across the sky, lighting the sight of her blood stained hands over the form of the man she'd given the last of her heart to.

'He's gone….' She thought to herself, eyes growing wide and hands shaking. 'I couldn't save him… I can't save anyone…"

And it was in that moment that something inside of her broke and all she could do was scream and cry and sob all of her pain and suffering skywards at the heavens.

Fate was cruel.

 

* * *

 

Years passed and the wars finally ended but her dreary view of the world remained unchanged as death and ghosts haunted her every step.

Observing her surroundings as she made her way through the latest town, she searched for the nearest bar. Earlier that night she had dropped Shizune off at the hotel they'd booked into and told her not to wait up. And knowing what day it was, Shizune knew better than to argue.

She just wanted to forget for once. Was that too much to ask for? She begged but knew better than to hope. Life had already taken too much from her for her to have any faith left.

Walking into one of the better bars of the village she made her way directly to the bar. Taking a seat, she signaled the man behind the counter for a drink.

Taking a small sip out of her cup, she couldn't stop her shoulders from relaxing slightly as the familiar feel of smooth sake burned down her throat.

She was so tired. Tired of dreaming every night of what she'd lost and what she could never have. Her memories were haunted by skies filled with lightning and rain and grounds soaked with blood and covered in bodies. And as hard as she tried, it was never ending.

Why?

Why couldn't she move on?

The familiar ache in her chest brought on the sudden urge of recklessness. Taking the small bottle of Sake, she downed it in her next drink before hitting the bartender up for another. Deciding to take this one slower, she refilled her small cup and brought it to her lips before putting it down again.

"Rough day?" A masculine voice questioned from beside her.

Running her finger along the rim of the sake bottle in front of her, she took in the sight of the man beside her from the corner of her eye, judging whether or not he was going to be a problem.

"Yeh, you could say that…" She responded while pouring another glass as she felt that same urge of recklessness settle inside of her.

'Just one night', she thought to herself, as she turned to the handsome man beside her and gave a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

'For just one night I want to forget everything.'

And she did.

Later that night when her body became entangled with his and he thrust roughly into her with wild abandon, she forgot everything that meant anything. The pain, the suffering, the loss, the loneliness. And for just one night, she felt alive once more, before she woke to the dark and grey world that was her reality once more.

 

* * *

 

_Eight Months later_

 

Tsunade observed her young dark haired apprentice from the corner of her eye, or more specifically, she observed the small delicate bundle of pink that her apprentice held carefully in her arms.

She knew that Shizune had hoped that the small child would change Tsunade for the better. Heck, Tsunade herself had been hoping for that as well. And for the duration of her pregnancy, she had. She'd given up on gambling and even her favourite sake. And after a while she even thought that she'd come to care for the little bean growing inside of her, but that all changed the moment she glanced down at the fragile infant that was wrapped in a soft, white blanket after nine hours of labour.

At that moment, the blonde kunoichi felt like her heart had been shattered into a million pieces all over again.

What had she been hoping for? That the child would have her blonde hair and Dan's forest green eyes? She realized then, that her whole pregnancy she'd been deluding herself into thinking that the child belonged to her long dead lover. That she'd have the chance at the future her and Dan would often day dream about. But she was wrong.

This child, would be a reminder of the life she never got the chance to have. She would be a reminder of the mistakes she'd made in the past but most of all, she realized on the day of her birth not a week ago that she'd be a constant reminder of the guilt, regret, sadness and self-hatred she felt for betraying Dan on that night eight months ago.

And no child deserved to be looked at that way by someone they should consider their mother. But Tsunade knew the moment she saw her pale pink hair and beryl green eyes. She knew that was all she would ever feel whenever she saw her.

Children needed to be nurtured with love and kindness and surrounded by a happy and stable environment. And Tsunade could provide neither of those.

Making up her mind, Tsunade took a sip of her sake as she watched the cherry blossom petals that were falling from the trees in front of them. Raising her hand, she held it out flat and watched as a pale pink petal fell into her palm. _The same shade as the child's,_ She noted and she couldn't help but think that they were so fragile before her thoughts were interrupted by her apprentice.

"Tsunade-shishou… Are you alright?" She asked softly while gently rocking the sleepy baby. Shizune was unsure of how to feel about the way her mentor was behaving. When Tsunade had confided in her about her pregnancy she'd been surprised but started thinking that maybe Tsunade would be able to move on from the memory of her deceased Uncle Dan and finally find happiness again. And for a while, that's how it looked, like things might have been progressing.

During the pregnancy, Tsunade had opened up more to Shizune and smiled more often. And this was despite the fact she wasn't allowed to drink sake anymore, which to Shizune was a big achievement. It wasn't until the baby was born that she began to withdraw into herself again. It was like a switch had been flicked and she'd instantly forgotten the past eight months.

But what bothered Shizune the most about her mentor's behaviour was the fact that Tsunade had yet to hold her child a second time. Even to feed her, Tsunade would rather express milk into a bottle than simply breast feed her. That and the fact that she hadn't even named her yet and had instead taken to calling her 'the child' or 'the baby'.

Shaking her head inwardly, Shizune looked at the contemplative expression that adorned the blondes face as she held her hand out to catch a cherry blossom petal.

"Aa, I'm fine… Shizune pack your things tonight. We're leaving tomorrow." She told her as she stood up and with her sake in hand, walked past a surprised Shizune.

"Eh?! Tsunade-shishou, where are we going?" She asked, accidentally startling the baby awake from her nap, while watching Tsunade walking towards their shoji door that led to their rooms.

"We're returning to Tanzaku." She threw over her shoulder, leaving behind a shocked Shizune and crying baby.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura makes a new friend and a new resolve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto.
> 
> If I did, Sakura would have been less useless and more badass.

Seven years Later

"Oi! Pinkie with the big forehead! You should just go back home to your parents and stop trying to play ninja! We all know you're only good for your big brain!" The other two children who stood next to him laughed. Noticing the way that her head angled down so her rosette bangs covered her glassy eyes and forehead as they continued to taunt her.

I will not cry. She thought to herself as a familiar pain and anger bloomed in her chest.

"Yeah! That's probably why you have a big forehead! Hahaha!" The other sneered.

"You don't even have any friends!" The brown haired girl called Ami said condescendingly.

I will not cry!

"None of your family are even shinobi! You should just go back home and play with your dolls! You don't belong here!" He sneered at her.

Seven-year-old Haruno Sakura had never been able to make friends while at the academy. She found out early on that most of the students had at least one parent who was a shinobi or were from clans and they didn't like it when a civilian's kid scored better than them. Well, that and most of them found her colouring strange and often teased her about it.

When she was younger, even before the academy, she would often walk home crying after being teased at the park. But when she arrived home her mother would always tell her that the other children were just jealous of her unique hair and eye colouring because it made her stand out more.

Her father also tried reassuring her by telling her to never be ashamed of her looks because it was what was on the inside that counted and then went on to say she was already the cutest kid in all of the Land of Fire anyways so she should try to ignore them.

But of course after hearing this it still didn't stop her from brushing her fringe over her forehead every morning to try hide its size. After all, parents are supposed to make their children feel better about themselves.

Feeling pain as a small rock hit her forehead, Sakura looked back at her tormentors as they continued to throw the same insults they always did at her.

Having had enough, she begins to turn around to find another place to eat lunch when she feels a hand on her shoulder push her forward. Unable to break the momentum because of the lunch box and water bottle she's holding, she falls to the ground in a heap. The lunch that was in her hands spilling out of its box.

"Where'd you think you're going? I'm talking to you!" One of the boys yelled.

I hate this!

The sound of laughter from the two boys and girl rings out and draws the attention of a few of the other kids in the yard. Two trails of tears begin to spill from her eyes and race down her face to her chin where they gather before they fall, forming small, dark spots on the ground.

I should be use to this by now, she thinks to herself since it happens almost every day.

Looking up from the ground, she notices the looks the other kids in the area are giving her. Some look at her as if she deserves it, some look on in sympathy while others simply look away as if it isn't happening at all, but no one is brave enough to step in. Sakura knows it's not their fault but she can't help but feel anger towards them for not helping. For sitting back and watching.

Looking back down at the ground, she couldn't help but feel anger at herself too for being so weak that she couldn't even defend herself.

Digging her palms and feet into the ground she pushes herself up onto her knees. Her trembling has become more noticeable to the other students and they all look away so they don't need to acknowledge what is happening.

"What?! Are you going to go cry to your mummy and daddy? You baby!" And they all laughed again.

"No." She whispered, barely audible but they heard.

"What was that forehead girl?" Ami sneered at her.

"I said 'No'!" She yelled at them before turning to face them while still kneeling on the ground. Her eye's sparked hot with anger and determination as her short hair flared up as if reacting to her emotions. "You'll see! I'll become stronger than all of you and when I do I'll beat your asses into the ground!"

Shocked silence filled the yard as her statement echoed to the surrounding students.

Watching as the blood rushed to their faces in anger she gasped when she realized what she'd just done and quickly tried to think of something to say that would make them less inclined to hurt her but all that could come to her mind were a range of rather colourful insults.

"You little-"

Realizing they were coming out of their states of shock, Sakura picked up as much dirt in her small hands as she could and threw it in the direction of their faces before turning to run to the nearest building where she knew there would be teachers. Some may call her a coward but in her eyes this was merely a tactical retreat.

Well it would have been if she'd been more aware of her surroundings. After whipping around in the direction of the nearest building, Sakura went to run only for her foot to land on her water bottle causing her to become unbalanced and slip forward, crying out from the jarring impact of her knees meeting the ground.

Wincing as her hands grazed the ground to stop her head from making contact, Sakura cursed softly to herself knowing that she'd have no time to get away from her bullies now.

Heart pounding, she glanced over her shoulder at her tormentors to see the one in the middle diving at her. Eyes widening and instincts kicking in, the pinkette threw herself to the side on the ground, narrowly avoiding being punched in the head.

Watching the older boy stumble forward off balance Sakura turned to see the other two bullies recovered from the sand and watching surprised as their fellow bully fell forwards onto the ground. The other boy turned and focused his eyes on her and growled before going to take a step forward with clenched fists.

Sakura having realized she'd have to fight decided if she was going to beat them into the ground one day, then why not try it today. Quickly getting to her feet, with a loud cry she launched herself at the boy successfully tackling him to the ground. Dumb struck by the action the boy was too late to do anything as the small rosette pulled back her fist and drove it into his nose just like her sensei had shown them in class.

As the boy cried out, a loud cracking sound was heard and a small splatter of blood shot from his nose onto her knuckles. Standing to run away again the pinkette was stopped by a harsh tug on her hair and was thrown back onto the ground.

Despite her heart beating loud and fast in her chest and the swell of fear in her gut, Sakura couldn't help but cringe when she noticed the boy she'd just attacked holding his face as blood poured down his mouth and chin. However, her sympathy was cut short when the first boy who'd charged at her pulled his leg back and began to kick her in the side.

Unable stop him from hurting her, Sakura pulled her legs into her body and put her arms around her head in a fetal position to protect herself. But it only helped her so much.

"Ami!" The boy barked. "Hold her up! I want to show her her place."

Feeling her hair grasped again, Sakura was still unprepared for the pain as her head was harshly yanked back forcing her to look at her tormentor who was holding his fist up while smirking sadistically.

"This'll teach ya!" He said triumphantly as he cocked his fist back and swung at her. Closing her eyes, the sound of her heart beating against her rib cage drowned out the sounds around her as she tensed waiting for the impact on her face.

Still waiting for the impact, Sakura opened her eyes cautiously to see what was happening only to be surprised by the scene in front of her.

A small blonde girl in a long sleeved orange top was straddling the older boy on the ground while punching him over and over. Sakura was so surprised that she didn't even realize that she'd been let free until she saw Ami racing forward towards her buddy.

Not about to let her beat up on the girl who'd just helped her, Sakura dived and grabbed the girls legs as she was running towards them, pulling her down onto the ground with her. Receiving a kick to the stomach Sakura cried out but ignored the sting of tears in her eyes and looked on determinedly before jumping onto the girls back and trying to get her into a head lock.

However it wasn't working because Ami kept struggling and Sakura's arms were too short. Deciding to change her tactics, Sakura loosened her hold on the other girl and instead tried punching her in the jaw, stunning her before she pushed off her shoulders and launched herself at the two boys who were now trying to gang up on her saviour.

Cocking her fist back, Sakura sent it flying towards one of the unsuspecting bullies with a loud war cry.

"SHANAROO!"

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Standing inside one of the empty classrooms with their respective sensei while waiting for everyone's parents to arrive at the academy, Sakura tried to only focus her attention on a certain point on the floor while she shuffled her feet every now and then.

She could feel the occasional glance in her direction from the blonde girl who saved her but refused to make eye contact because of the guilt she felt. She couldn't help but think that if she hadn't said those things to Ami and the others, then her saviour wouldn't be in this position. She wouldn't be getting into trouble for helping the pinkette out like she did.

If Sakura had only listened to her father's advice and tried harder to ignore or escape them then maybe they wouldn't be in this mess. Then again, Sakura couldn't say she felt bad for finally standing up for herself. She'd always wanted to, but she never wanted to risk the consequences until today.

Feeling the hair on her neck stand on end, Sakura peeked out from under her bangs to look at the other students only to find Ami glaring hatefully at her. Sakura glared back but couldn't help the small tug of a smirk that pulled at her lips. With the help of the blonde, Sakura had made good on her promise she made to the bullies.

While Sakura sported a few bruises on her sides from being kicked, several scrapes on her hands and knees from fighting on the ground and a few scratches on her face, the rosette and her blonde saviour had come out of the fight relatively unscathed.

The pretty blonde (that Sakura still didn't know the name of) had proven to be quite a difficult opponent for her tormentors to beat. Sakura suspected that she was from one of the bigger clans that usually make an actual effort to train their children. Considering the blonde only had a small bruise on the side of her face, most of her injuries were small scratches.

Sakura's bullies on the other hand didn't come out of the fight as well off. Two of the boys were sporting broken noses from both the blonde's and Sakura's contributions, while Ami was covered in several scratches and bruises on her face and body but what Sakura patted herself on the back for the most, was the missing front tooth and black eye that she sported.

Before someone had alerted the sensei to the brawl that broke out, Sakura had been given enough time to help her saviour out and score a couple of good hits on the bullies. But as it took a turn for the worst their sensei arrived, and they were all carted off to the infirmaries where they were looked over before their bigger injuries were treated and their smaller ones were left alone. As a punishment, the academy nurse told them.

But the pinkette couldn't help thinking that if this was going to be the only punishment from fighting, Sakura decided then that she would just have to get stronger so the next time they tried to hurt her she could make good on her promise and take them down herself.

When they were finally free of the infirmary, they were all marched off to their own class rooms until the end of the day when they were told their teachers would take them to another class room for a meeting. Sitting on a chair each, they all faced in a semi-circle, while the two teachers sat behind the large desk.

Iruka-sensei, who took the other class had immediately told them upon entering the class room that they were all to sit in silence and think about their actions until each of their parents arrived. He as well as Sakura's own sensei, Mizuki-sensei, then sat down and began to grade some papers while they waited.

The silence that had engulfed the room following that declaration was tense while everyone glared at each other or sulked to themselves but that quickly turned to boredom after about ten minutes. Looking up now, Sakura realized that at some point that Ami and both of the boy's fathers had already arrived while Sakura was deep in thought.

Hearing the door open again, Sakura turned her head to see who was entering and was surprised to see a very tall man with long blonde hair. Sakura imagined that if her saviour had been a boy then she would have been an almost exact copy of her father considering their similarities when she's a girl were uncanny.

Her saviour was oblivious to the nervousness of the rest of the kids as they all observed the man's attire and presence. He was dressed in the familiar dark grey uniform and black trench coat of the Torture and Interrogation department of Konoha. That coupled with the hard look he was directing at the rest of the children who had obviously gotten his daughter into trouble was enough to make everyone else in the room except for the sensei nervous. In fact, the sensei seemed more than pleased to see him if Iruka-sensei's greeting was anything to go by.

"Ah! Yamanaka-san, it's been a while." He said while waving the man inside.

Frowning slightly, Sakura wondered how long it would take for one of her parents to arrive. She wasn't sure which of her parents was going to show but she hoped that it wouldn't be her mother. As much as Sakura adored her mother, she also knew that she barely tolerated Sakura's wish to enter the academy and even more so for some reason, genuinely disliked Shinobi.

Turning back, Sakura observed the sensei and the blonde's father talk like old friends. Looking at the others she noticed how nervous they all were except for her saviour who turned to her and gave her a bright smile that Sakura returned shakily before her attention was turned to the door and she saw her Papa enter quite loudly compared to the rest.

"Oh Sorry I'm late! I hope I haven't missed anything important…" He said as he scratched the back of his neck. Sakura looked up at him and smiled. He was in his normal work clothes consisting of dark grey pants and a green haori with a pale yellow obi, and like usual, his bright red hair that had several grey streaks was brushed into five parts. Walking into the room, Sakura noticed how the parents started to relax. Her father always was good at breaking tense situations. She sometimes wondered if he did it intentionally though or if he was clueless to it.

"No, you haven't missed anything Haruno-san. Now that you're here let's begin." He said as he looked at all of the parents and their children.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The sun was low on the horizon as Sakura and her father began to make their way home in silence. The seven-year-old would occasionally glance up to look at her father to try to gauge how he was feeling.

The meeting had gone better than she thought it would. Sakura and Yamanaka Ino (her blonde saviour) had gotten off with no punishments and only a light chiding from the sensei to go to them when they are being bullied so they can sort it out without any fights.

Sakura didn't agree with him. She actually thought that if she'd gone to tell any of them than the bullies would have made it more personal for getting them in trouble. But she didn't say any of this knowing that the meeting would end faster if she agreed.

What surprised Sakura the most however was the punishment Ami had been given. Before the sensei appeared to stop the fight, Ami had pulled a kunai out of her pocket and attempted to slash at Yamanaka-san and as a result had gotten expelled. Apparently she was the only heir to the famous Yamanaka clan and that if Ami had actually hurt her, the punishment could have been much worst.

What further surprised Sakura though was the fact that Yamanaka-san (the older one), told Iruka-sensei that the punishment was quite harsh and that children could learn from their mistakes, and asked that Ami instead be put down two grades so she could "re-learn what it meant to be a leaf of the village."

The two boys who claimed to have not known Ami had the kunai on her were let off with a stern warning and cleaning duty for a month. And none of the parents had attested this, even Ami's mother who apologized profusely to both girls and said as she left that "It was obvious that her daughter was not shinobi material" and that "being put down a grade or two might bring her down a peg and make her a better person." Then after thanking Yamanaka-san for his leniency, left the room leaving only Sakura, Ino and their fathers.

Sakura's father then turned to Yamanaka-san and started talking about children and their squabbles. While Sakura looked at Ino shyly and smiled. Ino smiled back and introduced herself.

"I'm Yamanaka Ino. What's your name?"

"S-Sakura." Cursing herself for stuttering, she tried again. "My name is Sakura. Haruno Sakura."

Ino smiled at her again before saying "Nice to meet ya Sakura-chan!" Causing Sakura to blush at the added suffix that was usually used for close friends. Sakura couldn't help but admire Ino-san and the confidence she had. She wished she was like that. Looking down at her feet she started kicking the floor with her feet again before she looked up at the blonde and said, "T-Thank you, for helping me."

"You're welcome! If you ever have any trouble just let me know and I'll show 'em who's boss!" She exclaimed as she brought her balled fist up and grinned cheekily.

Brought out of her memories by her father's hand on her shoulder, Sakura looked up as she noticed they were on an unfamiliar path. Looking at her father he just smiled at her as they kept walking.

Sakura was unsure what to think of the silence. She knew that if her mother had got the message before her father, then Sakura would have to say goodbye to ever being a shinobi and that was something she didn't want to do.

So as they continued to walk, Sakura grew increasingly concerned that her ever cheerful father was going to tell her something that she didn't want to hear. They finally came to a stop when they spotted a seat overlooking the river that ran through the village.

As they sat down, Sakura was unable to take the silence anymore and burst out the question that's been bothering her since they left the academy.

"Am I in trouble Papa?" she said looking down at her lap.

"'Course you're not! What makes you think that?" He asked her. The look she gave him said it all and he laughed heartily.

"I'm sorry I made you worried, I was just thinking…" He trailed off. Sakura waited for him patiently to keep talking, happy that she wasn't in any trouble. Glancing around Sakura noted that the cherry blossoms she was named after would be blooming soon.

"Ne Sa-chan. You know, anytime you need help, you can talk to me right?" He looked at her with soft eyes.

"Yes, Papa." She responded making her father sigh.

"You know your mother and I love you right?"

Sakura looked at him trying to judge what he was getting at before she replied, "Yeh, Papa, I love you too." Making him smile.

"You know we should probably keep this from your mother…" He said before he sighed. "She probably wouldn't want you going back to the academy with what happened today."

Sakura looked down at her hands again mulling over whether or not to ask her next question before deciding to.

"Papa… Why does Mama hate Shinobi?" She asked quietly as a gentle wind brushed against them, picking some leaves up off the ground as it passed.

"Mebu-chan doesn't hate Shinobi, Sakura." He told her slowly as if to make sure she understood him before continuing. "You know, your mother had an older brother."

"An older brother?" Sakura was surprised. Her parents had never told her about their family, so Sakura had assumed they'd all died and just didn't like to talk about it.

"Yeh… Kawa-nii was a shinobi. A jounin."

"Kawa-ji…" Sakura said testing the name out. "What happened to him?" Her father looked down at her sadly and the look in his eyes said it all.

"He'd sworn to protect this village and died during the Kyuubi attack seven years ago."

Sakura looked down sadly too, thinking what it would have been like to have an uncle, then trying to imagine what it would be like to lose a brother. They must have been very close. Sakura thinks to herself.

"That is the fate of Shinobi, Sakura." He said looking at her intensely. As if waiting for her to fully comprehend what he was saying to her before continuing. "To give your life for your village."

Sakura thought about what her father was telling her. And thought back to the day she decided to become a shinobi.

It's my duty as a shinobi to protect this village and the people in it.

E-even the people you don't know?

Ah… But you know what?

I can also protect those most important to me

"But it means you can protect those important to you right?" Sakura asked her father who looked at her and nodded slowly.

Important to you?

Yeh… My precious people.

"So… You still want to become a shinobi after today?"

Sakura looked up at him determinedly.

"Yes Papa. I'm going to become a shinobi and protect my precious people."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two years later...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto.

Almost two years later...

The cold winter air burned her eyes and throat as she tried running as fast as she could through the streets of Konoha. Her small body was protected from the cold by her long sleeved pale green jumper and cream coloured three quarter pants. But that didn't stop the chilled weather from turning her nose, ears and cheeks pink as the wind whipped against her face and small snowflakes fell on her short cherry blossom pink hair despite it almost being spring.

Pushing through the crowds of people, Sakura took a quick left down a nearby alley hoping to avoid the early morning rush at the markets. Spying the entrance of the academy, Sakura couldn't stop the grin from spreading across her face as she caught sight of a head of pure blonde hair in the distance.

"Sakura-chan! Hurry up or we're going to be late!" Her blonde friend yelled to her, making her run faster. The young Yamanaka was dressed in cute black shorts that ended at her mid-thigh with a dark purple (almost blue) short sleeved shirt over a long black shirt that you could only see the sleeves of. Black socks reached up past her knees and her feet were encased in standard Konoha ninja shoes.

"Gomen, Ino-chan!" she said now with her hands on her knees bent over panting next to her. "I had to help Mama and Papa with the caravan." The Yamanaka looked at her sympathetically before asking as they turned and began to run to class, "It's alright Sakura-chan! They're leaving again so soon? How long this time?"

"Only a couple of weeks. And they're not going 'til tomorrow." Sakura told the girl with a nonchalant shrug, as if she wasn't bothered by it. But Ino could see the red rims around her eyes that she'd first thought to be from the cold, but realized now was probably from crying.

During her second year at the academy, her parents had started traveling to nearby villages in order to sell their silk materials and jewellery that Sakura's Mother made. This often left Sakura alone at home by herself and though her neighbour would occasionally drop in to check on her, Sakura still had an aura of loneliness whenever they were away.

Before the blonde could comfort her friend, they reached the academy building and Sakura was sliding the door of their class room open somewhat forcefully, startling their brown haired sensei.

"You're late, Yamanaka-san, Haruno-san." He said with a slight glare. "Find your seats and we'll get started." Both girls smiled at their kind sensei before looking around for free seats in the class.

"I'll let you sit next to Miki-chan, 'kay!" Ino told her as she made her way to the back of the classroom to sit next to 'that lazy Nara' as Ino liked to call him, not even giving Sakura time to protest. Shoulders slumping, Sakura looked around the class room spotting the brunette who looked at her with narrowed eyes. Sighing inwardly, Sakura made her way towards the girl.

Upon reaching her, the young Haruno put on her best fake smile and said 'hi' to the other girl, receiving only a nod in return as she took her seat. Sakura and Miki had never been friends; in fact, Sakura had never made friends with any of the other girls Ino liked. Like her past bullies, the rest of them thought that Sakura was a know-it-all and tried too hard, going so far as to belittle Sakura whenever the friendly Yamanaka wasn't around. And when Ino would be absent from the academy for her clan duties, the other girls would ignore her completely until Ino got back.

However, Sakura didn't really care too much about them; as long as she could still be friends with Ino then she didn't mind.

Sakura was brought out of her thoughts by Miki's whispered voice. "Forehead girl, where'd you find your clothes, the homeless shelter?" She asked before snickering at her own joke along with a couple of girls seated behind them.

Blushing, Sakura looked down at her clothes, not sure what was wrong with them. She'd bought them new only a few days ago and had only worn them a couple of times. Both of her parents had agreed they looked cute saying that the green brought out her eyes and both pieces of clothing were good for the season.

A small tap on her shoulder had Sakura turning to the girl who was seated on the other side of her. Hyuuga Hinata. The shy girl was blushing and pointing towards Iruka-sensei.

"Haruno-san, could you please read the passage." He asked her. Turning bright red, Sakura realized she hadn't even opened her book for the class yet. Blushing even brighter at the snickers she heard from the girls around her, Sakura was about to say sorry when the Hyuuga heiress slid her book towards Sakura and stuttered in a soft voice "s-second p-paragraph" before looking back down at her desk.

Sakura and Ino had never tried to make friends with the Hyuuga. Ino found her a little weird. She had a habit of putting her two forefingers together whenever she was nervous or embarrassed and she'd always stutter. Sakura had once asked Ino why she couldn't and Ino had just mumbled something about Hyuuga clan expectations. When Sakura finished reading she slid the book back to her neighbour with a small smile in thank you before opening her own and paying closer attention.

Before Sakura knew it, time had flown by and it was lunch time. Like usual Sakura, Ino and the other girls made their way to a small grassy patch under a tree to sit down to eat. Sakura sat beside Ino ignoring some of the looks she received from the other girls. She knew Ino would have to attend clan duties the following day, and wanted to make up for it now as much as possible.

"Ne, Ino-chan… How long will you be away for clan duties this time?" Sakura asked her friend, hoping she wouldn't be gone too long.

"Depends, could be a week or two this time Sakura-chan!" Ino said enthusiastically. Sakura smiled at that knowing that sometimes Ino could be gone up to three weeks at a time. So this was a relatively small amount of time.

Pulling her bentou out, Sakura thought about what she was going to do with both her parents and Ino away while everyone else chatted about boys and make up, but was soon startled by the sudden squealing of all of the girls in their group even Ino.

Looking up, Sakura followed their line of site already knowing who was likely to be walking past, but couldn't help herself. Uchiha Sasuke was every girl's dream husband. He was strong, confident and smart and although the rest had never spoken to him, they all agreed that he'd be caring and romantic.

Still Sakura could never bring herself to tell anyone about her secret crush because she knew that Ino liked him too, even if she never said anything out loud either. Sakura could tell by the way her eyes would follow him in class and pay more attention to his fights during taijutsu training. Ino was her best, if not only, friend so she would never admit to liking the same boy because it could wreck their friendship.

Watching as he walked past, the rosette couldn't help but notice that he looked different. He was still dressed in his usual high collard black clan shirt and white ninja shorts, but his stance was slightly more slumped and there were light shadows beneath his eyes probably from a lack of sleep. Sakura had heard whispers about his mother and father being killed but it wasn't until Ino had told her when she mentioned it one day that it was his entire clan as well.

Sakura watched the boy as he walked past in sympathy until he looked up from his thoughts and seemed to glare directly at her. Gasping quietly, she turned her head to look back down at the bentou in her hands while a deep blush spread across her cheeks. Thankful that most of the girls were still paying attention to the Uchiha, the pinkette began to eat her lunch hoping her blush would fade but was unluckily brought to attention by none other than Miki.

"Sakura-chan," She began in an overly sweet voice. "Were you blushing because of Sasuke-kun too? You must like him huh?"

A sudden bout of stage fright struck Sakura as all of the girls turned to look at her causing her blush to return full force, seemingly confirming Miki's words.

Several of the girls gasped and made comments like "No way!" and "She'd never stand a chance", which brought Sakura out of her stupor. Turning to look at her friend Sakura noticed the look of surprise on her face and opened her mouth to deny what they said only for Miki to interrupt.

"Ne Sakura-chan, if you really want Sasuke-kun to like you you'll have to start dressing better." Miki drawled causing a few of the other girls to nod.

"But I don't-" Sakura began but was cut off again by a different girl this time.

"Yeah Sakura-chan, if you don't stop wearing such plain clothes than you'll never stand a chance. Right, Ino-chan?" The girl said innocently before looking towards the blonde.

Sakura turned her head to look at her too only to see the blank look on her face that was assessing her outfit. Sakura was about to correct them again so she didn't lose Ino's friendship when the Yamanaka beat her to it.

"They're right Sakura-chan." Ino said before pulling her lips tight in disapproval and frowning. "While usually green would match your eyes that colour looks faded from being worn too often and not to mention it's quite plain." Ino told her making Miki smirk behind her. "And those pants look like they're for old ladies, you should shorten them so you look more like a girl and even add a little make up…"

Stunned by her friend's words Sakura could only stare at the blonde before she pulled herself together and looked down in embarrassment as tears began to form in the corner of her eyes. It seemed that despite her attempts to fit in she still failed.

Sakura had made it a habit to buy new clothes to wear to the academy every couple of months to keep up with Ino and even started straightening her hair in the mornings because everyone else did too. And despite her dad's words she started dieting with Ino too because her friend asked her to.

And even though Ino was telling her this to help her get Sasuke's attention and this is despite her obvious like for the boy, Sakura couldn't help but wonder if she'd been embarrassing her popular friend by dressing like an old lady all this time.

Ino had taken Sakura under her wing after she'd saved her but was the embarrassment Sakura brought with her worth it? Sakura thought to herself. Tugging on the hems of her clothes, Sakura resolved herself to dress better tomorrow so as not to embarrass her friend by wearing plain and daggy clothes.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Sakura!" Haruno Kizashi called as he knocked on the bathroom door. "We're ready to go! You still alive in there?" He joked while waiting for a reply.

"Gomen! I'll be out in a second!" She yelled back through the bathroom door. Turning at the sound of his wife coming up the stairs, the red haired man decided he'd wait outside for both women. Wincing slightly when he heard from the bottom steps his wife yell "Sakura, we have no time! If you don't hurry, we're leaving without you!"

Sighing, Kizashi scratched the back of his neck and hoped the neighbours wouldn't be woken up by his family. As he waited near the caravan carrying their family goods he could hear his wife occasionally snap at their daughter who was likely bustling around the house, looking for her books and training gear for her academy lessons today.

The sound of raised voices brought his attention to the entrance of his house and it wasn't long until his wife and daughter stepped outside together and he was forced to do a double take as he glanced over his pink haired daughter's attire.

The eight, almost nine-year-old was dressed in a cream coloured shirt with short sleeves that finished above her biceps and puffy red shorts that ended above her knees. These were accompanied by the standard shinobi sandals on her feet and a familiar red ribbon that held her shoulder length hair back.

In all, Kizashi thought that his daughter looked cute and would have told her so if it wasn't February and the temperature wasn't below ten degrees Celsius. What was going through her head when she decided to wear that today wasn't exactly a mystery to him and he shook his head inwardly before looking at his daughter again.

He hadn't noticed it right away but now that he was paying closer attention he could see the slight darkening of her eyelashes and the small amount of artificial blush that decorated her cheeks.

In the last year, many people had commented that his daughter had changed from the quiet, shy and caring girl she once was. And he agreed to some extent. Since becoming friends with the young Yamanaka heiress, she'd become a bit more confident in herself and she wasn't as afraid to stand up for herself.

In Kizashi's opinion, Sakura probably admired her young friend and wanted to be like her. Thus she was able to come out of her shell a little more and be more social with other girls her age. But this also led to their current issue.

In the past year, Sakura had become more materialistic, buying new clothes more often and dieting because the other girls were, even though they were all only eight. She also turned a blind eye to some rather mean things said in the company of the other girls sometimes about people they see in passing. This in particular was very unlike her when she was alone.

And also like the other girls, she seemed to have a bit of a crush on the young Uchiha boy that every girl at the academy fawned over, only she concealed it better. This in turn drove his wife, Mebuki crazy and put a strain on the already tense relationship the two shared since Sakura entered the academy.

But despite her outward appearance, Kizashi could still see the kindness and caring she exuded from when she was younger which she only showed when she was alone. He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of his wife's voice lecturing their daughter again.

"This proves that you don't have what it takes to be a shinobi. You care too much for your appearance." Mebuki exclaimed. "Do you think an enemy ninja is going to care about what you're wearing while they try to kill you?! You should just drop out of the academy now before you die!"

Kizashi watched as his wife took deep breathes and couldn't stop the sigh he let out, knowing the argument that was coming. They'd been dancing around it for months, refusing to talk to each other about it and instead letting it fester along with their mother-daughter bond.

"I am not going to give up on being a shinobi! And what's wrong with what I'm wearing?! Shinobi must be able to endure in any situation!" Sakura argued back.

Their voices were now raised to high pitched yelling as they stood glaring at each other on the street.

"You are not a shinobi and you never will be! I will not allow this facade to continue!" Mebuki continued. "I allowed you to join the academy when you were younger hoping you would eventually grow bored of this- THIS FAZE! But I will not tolerate it anymore! DO YOU WANT TO DIE FOR NO REASON?!"

"JUST BECAUSE YOUR BROTHER DIED DOESN'T MEAN I'M GO-" Sakura cried, eyes burned with anger and beginning to water.

"DON'T YOU DARE BRING HIM INTO THIS!" Mebuki yelled cutting her off.

"That's enough! Both of you!" Kizashi interfered before it could get even more out of hand. "You are both acting like children." He chastised them and then watched as his wife huffed and stomped towards the caravan before hopping in, leaving father and daughter behind.

"Sakura, you are never to talk to your mother like that."

"But-" Sakura tried to argue, her face showed betrayal and sadness before looking down at the ground in guilt and anger.

"No 'buts'!" He said voice filled with disappointment and let his shoulders slump with another sigh. He didn't know how he was going to explain everything to her. "Sakura…"

Looking down he watched as her head tilted downwards and her pink hair fell over her eyes and he couldn't help the guilt that rose in his chest as he remembered a much smaller and lonely girl.

He could understand where Mebuki was coming from. He was scared for their daughter as well. The path she'd chosen was unsafe and filled with struggle but he knew that his wife was going about it the wrong way, especially considering they'd have to tell Sakura the truth soon.

Kneeling down in front of her so that their eyes were level, Kizashi shrugged off his outer midnight blue haori that had small pale pink Sakura petals descending down one sleeve, and threw it around her shoulders.

"Here this should shake the goose bumps and warm you up before class." He told her with a small smile hoping to diffuse the atmosphere. Seeing that she was going to protest he gave her a stern look to which she huffed in the same way Mebuki usually did before conceding defeat with a watery smile.

"Besides," He continued nonchalantly. "If any of your friends have a problem with the way you dress then they shouldn't even be considered friends." The underlying message was clear and he knew his daughter was thinking it over as she tilted her head down a little again.

Real friends don't care about appearances.

Kizashi watched his daughter pull her arms into his haori and hold onto the hems that reached past her knees and elbows and looked adoringly at her before saying "Fits you perfectly." This got him a look of disbelief that turned into a genuine smile as he helped her roll up the arm sleeves. Knowing that he had to play mediator Kizashi broached the topic that'd caused many an argument in the Haruno household in the past year or so.

"Sakura-chan, your mother and I care for you deeply. You are our only child and we want to keep you safe." He said before pausing and looking her in the eye.

"I know Papa it's just-" Sakura was cut off by her father putting his hand on her shoulder.

"The life of a shinobi is dangerous and they die often. Please think about this while we're away and decide for yourself if you truly want to continue. But remember no matter your choice, your Mama and I will always support you."

"I don't think Mama will ever agree…" Sakura mumbled.

"She'll come around, Sakura." Kizashi stated reassuringly while looking at his daughter.

"Well I better be off." He said standing up then reminded her as he moved towards the caravan and her mother, "Remember to check in with Tanaka-san every day." He said referring to their neighbour.

"We'll see you in two weeks, three at most." He said before hopping into the front of the caravan beside his wife, leaving behind his teary eyed daughter.

As they exited the village walls and continued down the road Kizashi looked to his side at his wife whose depressed aura was oozing off her in dark waves.

"Mebu-chan," Kizashi said drawing his blonde wife's attention from her brooding thoughts. "You shouldn't take your worries out on Sakura. I may not know the reason he wants to speak with us, but I'm sure it's not what you're thinking." Kizashi paused for a moment, staring at the road ahead. "And even if it is, with the path she's chosen, Sakura will eventually find out someday. We've done all we could. It will be her decision from here on whether or not she wants to know him…" The words left unsaid echoed between them and what happens after.

"I know Kiza-kun, I know. I just…" Mebuki turned to look at the road ahead. "She's our daughter in all but blood…" The woman took a deep breath before whispering brokenly. "Our baby girl."

"I know." He said before turning to her with a small smile. "But have a little faith. He's an honourable man. Everything will be alright in the end."

"I hope you're right." Mebuki whispered looking at the sky.

I hope you're right.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Standing outside of her class, Sakura nervously played with the end of the haori her father had given her that morning. By the time her parents left, she really didn't feel like going to the academy so she'd started walking slowly, zigzagging the streets between her own and the academy trying to lengthen the time before she'd be there by as much as possible.

When she finally arrived, she'd prepared herself for the lecture Iruka-sensei was probably going to give and was prepared to get in trouble but that wasn't what she dreaded the most at the moment. It was the cruel words she knew the other girls were going to say about her when she entered the class. They'd say things about her being a hobo or not having enough money to buy clothes or tease her about being a daddy's girl. And because Ino wasn't there they'd continue it until she came back.

Sakura wasn't exactly a coward, she'd learned to take most insults and brush them off. It was just that after the argument she'd had with her Mama and the talk she'd had with her Papa, she really wasn't in the mood to put up with it.

Raising her hand to open the door before lowering it again in indecision Sakura thought about how this could all be avoided if she just took off her Papa's haori. In fact, she'd thought about it while walking to class but whenever she was about to do it her father's words would echo in her head.

If any of your friends have a problem with the way you dress, then they shouldn't even be considered friends.

The rosette wondered what Ino would say about her wearing this outfit to class. Would she mind? Or would she abandon her? Sakura knew she looked ridiculous in the haori but she loved her Papa and knew this was one of his favourites too. And even though she wouldn't admit it out loud, she'd been freezing this morning.

The clothes she bought the day before were made from a material usually used for summer clothes, which was how she was able to afford it with her allowance, so it barely kept the cold air out.

Sighing, Sakura considered taking the haori off again but the decision was taken out of her hands. The sound of someone coughing behind her and an "excuse me" were her only warnings before an arm reached over her head and pulled the sliding door open revealing her to the class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to thank everyone who has given kudos, commented or bookmarked this fanfic :) You're awesome. I hope you continue to enjoy and follow it.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto.

Standing wide eyed and slightly pale, Sakura shied away from the amount of eyes that turned to look at her as the class room door slid open. Her voice stuck to the back of her throat as she turned to explain her absence to her sensei. However, before she could begin, a hand on her back guided her forward into the class room as Iruka-sensei turned from the board and looked at the two of them.

"Haruno-san, you're late. Again." He said then paused for more emphasis while looking at her sternly. "See me after class." Sakura nodded rigidly and taking his last words as a dismissal, she hurried to find a seat hoping that none of the eyes would follow her now reddened face.

As she sat down she met the dark gaze of Inuzuka Kiba and went to greet him but was distracted by the small head that popped out of his jacket. Sakura's expression softened and warmth filled her body while looking at the cute little bundle of fur nestled in his jacket. Nodding at them both with a small smile in greeting, Kiba replied with a grin, showing off his canines' and his nin-dog let out a quiet bark before they turned their attention back to the front for the introduction of their guest sensei.

The man was dressed in the standard black shinobi pants and shirt with Konoha's forest green flak jacket over the top. His hair was brown and covered by a blue cloth that displayed his hitai-ate marking him a Konoha shinobi.

He looked to be about twenty and had dark eyes that were lined slightly with dark rings either from make up or just lack of sleep, probably lack of sleep but Ino had told her once that you never really know with shinobi and then told her a story about how she'd once met a ninja who wore a green body suit. The message Sakura had gotten from that story was that shinobi could be weird.

"Okay everybody, listen up!" Iruka-sensei called over the top of everyone's curious voices gaining their attention before motioning to the man beside him. "This is Gekko Hayate and he is our guest sensei for the day. Treat him well." He said before stepping aside prompting Gekko-sensei to move forward and speak to the class.

"My name is Gekko Hayate and I am a tokubetsu jounin of Konoha. Today I'll be speaking to you about different weapons and their uses in the field."

Whispers could be heard throughout the classroom before a blonde haired boy with bright blue eyes in the back row and whiskers on his cheeks, named Naruto yelled out, "What's a tokubetsu jounin, sensei?" causing Iruka-sensei to rub his temples and mumble something under his breathe while a lot of kids in the class called him names in whispered voices or simply glared at him for interrupting.

Sakura herself was surprised that he didn't know as it was something they were tested on the year before that everyone was expected to know to pass. It was also one of the easier questions on the exams they sat at the end of the last year.

Gekko-sensei stared at the boy unnervingly before coughing and looking at the rest of the class asking "Can anybody explain to the class what a tokubetsu jounin is?"

The rest of the class looked at each other nervously, unsure of the answer while Sakura balled her hands into her father's haori to stop herself from raising them to answer. Believing she'd already drawn enough attention to herself today and she didn't want anymore. She learned while she was younger that the more attention you drew to yourself, the more likely you'd give someone a reason to pick on you.

This was the main reason she thought the blonde kid was an idiot. Despite all of the dislike people tended to have for him, he continued to play pranks on people and wear that ridiculously bright orange jumper and pants that practically screamed 'insult me'. Though Sakura would admit that sometimes she found some of his pranks well thought out and funny, she disliked his disrespect towards Iruka-sensei and he even pranked her mother once.

Somewhat surprisingly it was the Inuzuka beside her who raised his hand and answered the question.

"A tokubetsu jonin is a shinobi who's really strong in one field and at a jonin level but their over-all abilities are at a chunin level. My clan for example are really good at tracking." He finished in a proud tone which was followed by a high pitched bark.

"That's right Inuzuka-san." Gekko-sensei said in his deep but monotone voice. "I specialize in weaponry but in particular my focus is kenjutsu." He motioned to the katana strapped to his back.

"Today we'll go through the different scenarios suited for various weapons in offensive and defensive manoeuvres before going to the training posts to practice your kunai and shuriken throwing. There will also be a table of various weapons that you'll be able to look at."

Sakura listened intently for the rest of the class as Gekko-sensei spoke about kunai, shuriken, staffs, chain sickles, bows and several different types of swords before he led the class outside for throwing practice.

As Sakura made her way down the hall with her practice weapons in a small pouch in her hands, she was caught off guard when someone gave her a rather harsh shove in the side that caused her to yelp quietly and fall to the side.

The small posse following Miki all looked at her now on the ground and snickered while making their way pass. Sakura clenched her fist and grit her teeth before relaxing them and following behind.

She could already feel the loneliness from the absence of her blonde friend and her family being away and wasn't looking forward to going home once her academy classes finished. And because of this, she absolutely wasn't in the mood to put up with the under handed acts by the rest of the girls in the class.

Unbeknownst to her, her academy sensei, Umino Iruka, witnessed the act and decided he would have a word with the main instigator at some point if it continued. He knew that the children would have to learn to defend themselves and stand up for themselves, but sometimes he found that it was best to deal with these sorts of behaviour before they are taken too far especially if they were training to be shinobi. Unknowingly, this would lead to the something that would affect the rosette's life from there on out.

When Sakura reached the rest of her class outside, there was a long table of various weapons set up that intrigued her. There were swords that were short and long and some that were curved as well as shuriken and kunai with different numbers of blades to the standard. There were nunchakus and senbon, staffs and axes. Sakura was amazed by the variety and also slightly intimidated by how big some of them were.

Once the class finished having a look at the weapons and some of the kids holding a couple, they moved on to target practice. Gekko-sensei demonstrated how to throw both kunai and shuriken then allowed three students at a time to throw at the different throwing posts set up.

When it was Sakura's turn, she was able to hit the outer circle with both weapons and despite not being as good as some of the clan kids, she found herself content with that result knowing that she'd just have to train more, especially after Gekko-sensei's last words to the students before the end of his class.

Sakura had been awed by his words because they hit so close to home. If Sakura had any insecurities about being a ninja it was that she feared she wasn't going to be good enough. When Sakura had first become friends with the Yamanaka heiress she realized how much more preparation clan children got in comparison to her own upbringing.

So as soon as she got home that day from the academy and after explaining her lateness to Iruka-sensei, Sakura wrote down Gekko-sensei's words and stuck them to her mirror beside the picture of her family.

"No one is born great, despite what some people may think. The legends you read about in your text books and the heroes your parents tell you stories about, even the shinobi from clans, they started out as children just like you, but they were pushed and pushed themselves to train to become strong. So even if you aren't all that great right now, just remember all it takes is determination, discipline, practice and perseverance to become more."

.

.

Two days passed and it seemed like a lifetime for Sakura who was now standing and watching the taijutsu spars between her class mates. They all stood around in an arch shape on either side of their sensei as two male students sparred until either one of them gave up, they moved out of the marked lines or Iruka-sensei called it and she couldn't help feeling nervous as she watched on.

Though she tried to hide her nervousness, the pinkette began to fidget with the bottom of her green cardigan while watching the match progress. Not noticing the person who'd come to stand beside her until the girl had pushed into her shoulder to stand slightly in front of her with a sneer on her lips.

Since the day Ino had left for clan duties, Miki and the other girls for some reason decided that instead of just ignoring Sakura like they usually do, that they would bully her, finding times to insult her or push her around. And Sakura, unwilling to fight back because of her friendship with the blonde, tried to ignore it and shake off the insults.

Gritting her teeth and ignoring the action, Sakura hoped that the girl would leave her alone. However, her hopes were in vain when she saw the brunette haired girl open her mouth to talk.

"What are you afraid of a little sparring, forehead girl?" She sneered to which Sakura outwardly ignored, still watching the match. "Look at you, shaking, and you haven't even been chosen yet. You should do yourself a favour and quit trying to be a shinobi, we all know you're no good at taijutsu. You'd probably lose in a real fight."

Sakura wanted to argue with Miki and tell her that it wasn't true but as Sakura thought about it, in some ways it was true. Sakura had always excelled in book smarts but was never the best when it came to taijutsu, though she did believe she was probably as good as Miki though they'd never sparred against each other.

In the first few months of her friendship with Ino, the two would often train together. But that all stopped around a year ago when all of the girls started caring more for boys and appearances then about their futures as kunoichi. And Sakura had copied them willingly, hoping to fit in.

Since then, Sakura's ability in taijutsu had dropped and she found herself even more nervous whenever she was chosen to spar against anyone in front of the class. So it wasn't surprising when her name was called next and she got beaten by Hyuuga Hinata in a taijutsu spar.

Hinata was known to be quiet and kind and didn't particularly like hurting people, and you could tell this from the way she fought Sakura.

Her movements were fluid and graceful as she dodged all of Sakura's strikes. "As expected of a Hyuuga", she'd heard Ino say once when describing Hinata's taijutsu, but everyone knew the young heiress was too kind. This was proven when she hesitated to strike back in any of the openings Sakura left undefended. Though all this really did was make Sakura look bad in front of everyone and even more embarrassed but Sakura refused to give in and continued to attack. She didn't want to prove Miki's words right.

It wasn't until Hinata noticed the snickering of the other girls at Sakura's plight that she squeezed her eyes shut and stepping into the opening Sakura left after one of her missed attempts at striking the Hyuuga, hitting her rather harshly on the chin making her stumble back and out of bounds causing Iruka-sensei to call the match.

As she made her way back to the group of students, head bowed down in shame and trying to ignore the sound of giggles from the other girls and a couple of boys, Sakura tensed when she heard Miki's voice exclaim over the rest.

"Told ya didn't I, forehead!" Miki said in a sneering know-it-all voice. "Maybe if you focused more on your body instead of your big head you'd do better, freak!" She said causing Sakura to blush from embarrassment and shame because she didn't have anything to say against that. Instead she decided to block out the rest of class until they were told to go home. So far in her own little world she missed hearing Iruka-sensei ask to see Miki at the end of the class.

.

.

The Haruno slowly made her way home with a new shiner on her face and secretly wishing the Hyuuga was someone she could dislike so she wouldn't feel so guilty whenever she began to curse about her. Though she knew it wasn't Hinata's fault, it was her own because she had focused too hard on fitting in then preparing to become a shinobi.

Once home, she took her academy bag to her room and changed into warmer clothes then proceeded to empty her bag before picking it up again and making her way to the bathroom. Taking some ointment from the cupboard she made her way down stairs to the kitchen.

As she walked through the house, her quiet footsteps echoed off the cold floors and her shadow seemed to stretch out around her. Sakura had always hated it when her parents travelled for work. The house always seemed to get colder and darker and loneliness would creep up on her. It was even worst at night time because you could hear every little thing from the wind outside blowing against the window, to the tap slowly dripping water down stairs in the sink.

The first time her parents went away, they'd asked their neighbour Tanaka-san to look after Sakura for the week. And then after that, Ino would often come over and visit her to kill the feeling of being alone. But whenever Ino couldn't be there, Sakura made it her mission to stay out of the house as much as possible. This usually resulted in her visiting her favourite spot in the village until the sun began to set.

In the kitchen, she hesitated before grabbing a bag of chips from the cupboard and an apple and bottle of water from the fridge dismissing the diet her and Ino were on in favour of comfort food. Putting those in her bag, she made her way to the front door, put her shoes back on and left the house, waving to her neighbour as she turned onto the street.

Making her way through the village Sakura headed towards the river that ran through it to follow the path around to the west side of Konoha. The streets were crowded by vendors and stalls as she walked past all of the people who were working the last few hours of their day before closing up shop in the market district. Once the river and the path began to separate, Sakura followed the path until it was lined with one of the forests within Konoha.

Having reached a familiar tree, the academy student quickly looked around to make sure no one was watching before ducking under the side railing and taking off onto the unmarked trail that would lead her to her secret place.

As she walked she began to marvel, not for the first time, at the tall trees that engulfed the space above and around her. Walking through the grass for another ten minutes, she pushed her way through the last of the smaller tree branches before coming to a small meadow.

The clearing was only around fifteen by ten meters and was lit by the light that managed to slither through the tall tree branches that surrounded the space. During the other seasons the clearing was filled with lots of types of flowers of different colours and it always made it look so enchanting, like a place in the books Sakura's mother used to read to her, but during winter it was only filled with grass that reached past her ankles and tickled her shins.

Slowly making her way through the long grass she dropped her bag down before sitting herself down on a nearby boulder with her legs stretched out.

She didn't often come to this place during winter because of how much colder and darker it was but the past few days had seen her there more often than not. She tilted her head so that the light was resting on her face, warming it up from the cool breeze and smiled softly until a cold blast of wind blew against her face making Sakura bring her hands up for warmth only to wince when she touched the bruise forming on her chin.

Remembering how she got it, she was reminded of how weak she was in taijutsu. She wasn't able to do anything against Hinata and the girl wasn't even trying to hurt her.

Sakura thought back to when she'd gotten into the fight with those bullies when she was seven and how Ino had helped her. But before that, Sakura had sworn to herself that she'd get strong, yet here she was, nursing a bruised chin and pride. She looked across the clearing at the makeshift bulls-eye she'd carved into a tree with a kunai the first day she'd come back to the clearing.

Since the day Gekko-sensei had given his class on weapons, Sakura had been coming every day after the academy to practice her weapons throwing. She believed in her sensei's words and wanted to prove to herself that she could do better.

Thoughts of her training brought her mind back to the sparring she used to do with Ino. Those spars usually ended up with her losing too but not before she was able to get a few good hits in. This used to make her proud of herself because Ino was the heiress to a ninja clan and was trained from young to learn to defend herself. After sparring, the blonde would always compliment Sakura on how quick she learned too and it always made Sakura happy to feel closer to her goal.

But now, thinking about how much her taijutsu skills had gone downhill, Sakura wondered if this was why her mother was so against her becoming a shinobi and why her father said what he did to her before he left.

_The life of a shinobi is dangerous and they die often. Please think about this while we're away and decide for yourself if you truly want to continue._

Sakura was sure that this was what she wanted. When she was a child, she remembered watching the ninja jump from rooftop to rooftop and would imagine how it would feel to do the same. But it wasn't until the day she met _him_ that she was sure becoming a shinobi is what she wanted.

She'd been lost, scared and alone, crying for someone to help her, and people just continued to walk past her, but he didn't. He'd stayed with her even though he didn't need to and helped her when everyone else chose not to.

_It's my duty as a shinobi to protect this village and the people in it._

At that moment a feeling swept through her and she knew for sure that she was going to be a ninja when she grew up.

When she told her parents about her dream her mother had immediately rejected the idea, hoping Sakura would forget about it. But as time passed, her father realized that she wasn't going to give up and so he convinced her mother to let her attend the academy despite her opinion on the whole matter.

Despite this being her dream, the whole concept of dying had never really occurred to her until her father told her about her uncle. Sakura only wanted to help people like _he_ helped her. But even so, Sakura admired her uncle for fighting to protect their family and their village. And even though he died, in Sakura's eyes he died a hero.

A strong gale of wind swept into the clearing and Sakura realized that she didn't have much time left for training before she had to go home. So jumping off of the boulder with more determination than before she went to her bag and pulled out her training shuriken and kunai and began to practice.

She decided that she'd start taking becoming a shinobi more seriously so she wouldn't be worrying her parents when she graduated, and the first thing she needed to fix was her taijutsu.

Sakura didn't have a clan or ninja parents to teach her so she knew she'd have to teach herself. A couple of hours later, Sakura exited the clearing and began making her way home with plans to get stronger.

As she walked along the river she decided that she'd go through all of her texts and notes on taijutsu and put them to practice every day before and after the academy so when her parents got back, they could see just how serious Sakura was and they wouldn't have to worry so much anymore. She was determined to become a strong shinobi for her parents, and for her village.

.

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	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Naruto.

The loud 'thuds' of kunai hitting wood echoed throughout the meadow followed by a feminine cry of frustration. Fingers pulling at her pink hair, Sakura dropped to her knees emitting another quiet shriek before flopping onto the cold ground and flailing her limbs.

For the past week she'd been taking her training as a shinobi more seriously, going so far as to borrow some scrolls from the academy library for information to get better. That lead to running before and after classes to improve her stamina, practicing her taijutsu stances and movements more often, and lastly the one she's had the most problems with, practicing her weapons throwing.

Despite setting up a makeshift target attached to one of the many trees in her meadow and practicing every day, Sakura felt as if she had hardly improved. She knew she wasn't going to become an expert after only one week, but the fact she was still missing the target's center on every single try was annoying her to no end.

Frustration abating, the rosette rolled onto her back to look at the sky with a huff before closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath. Inhaling the natural scent of the forest surrounding her, her body began to relax as her emotions calmed down. She focused on the feel of the damp grass beneath her and let the sweet smell of pine encase her in a cocoon of familiarity as it seeped into her being like a second skin.

So lost in the company of the nature surrounding her, she didn't notice the presence of someone entering the clearing until a leg collided with her body and they went toppling over her.

Letting out an undignified yelp and holding her side where pain resonated from where the foot connected, Sakura slowly sat up to see who had intruded on her spot because it was the one thing she wouldn't tolerate. This place had been her sanctuary for so long that she hadn't even told Ino about it, and she considered the blonde her best friend.

Throwing a glare in the culprit's direction, she could feel her negative emotions building and about to break through until surprise took over when she realized who it was.

"Hinata-san?"

"S-sakura-s-san…" The young Hyuuga heiress sniffled before trying to discreetly wipe at her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt.

Noticing the tears on her face Sakura grew more concerned. She'd never seen the Hyuuga heiress cry before and wasn't really sure what to do.

"Are you alright Hinata-san? Do you want me to get someone for you?" Sakura inquired kindly only for the lavender eyed girl to quickly shake her head and stand.

"I-I'm f-fine S-Sakura-s-san. I-I'm s-sorry for-for bothering y-you. I-I'll be go-going n-now." She hiccuped before standing up to walk away not even bothering to look around the clearing.

As Sakura watched the dejected form of her classmate walk away with barely concealed tears in her eyes, she was reminded of their similarities and couldn't stop the feelings of concern and sympathy that gathered in her chest. Sakura knew for a fact that Hinata was bullied while growing up, even if it was for different reasons to herself. While Sakura had a huge forehead and weird hair colour, Hinata was the heiress to one of the strongest clans in Konoha but despite that, was considered an average student who had self-confidence issues.

Sakura knew what it was like to be alone even if she wasn't anymore. It was why she was willing to follow Ino and try to change for her. She wanted to belong somewhere. But Hinata didn't have someone who was an Ino for her and that was what made the decision for Sakura.

"Hinata-san," She called then waited for the girl to turn to look at her. "You can stay if you want?" She gestured to the space besides her nervously.

She hadn't tried to make friends with anyone since she was five and was called a freak for the first time. Seeing the indecision cross the other girls face before she began to shake her head in rejection, Sakura added in a quiet yet honest voice, "T-this is a good place to think about stuff…"

Noticing the Hyuuga was now looking at her Sakura continued, "And I'd be happy to talk… ya know… if you want? I-I mean you don't have to… I just think it's hard not having someone to talk to…" Sakura trailed off embarrassed by her rambling and the rejection she knew was going to come. So she was surprised when she heard footsteps come towards her before she could feel the heat of another body taking a seat on the damp grass beside her.

Smiling inwardly at her success the rosette closed her eyes and thought about what she could say to the other girl. She didn't know Hinata very well but what she did know was that the girl was quite shy and gentle. Similar to how she used to be and still was sometimes.

Surprisingly, rather than finding the silence awkward, Sakura found it somewhat comforting to have someone next to her even if they didn't know each other very well. Her thoughts began to drift to the reason the heiress was there. Sakura had never seen Hinata cry before and wondered what could make the heiress so upset. Maybe she was being bullied again?

Before she could ponder it more, Sakura was brought out of her thoughts by the Hyuuga moving. Blinking several times before looking at the girl in question, she noticed her companion was playing with her index fingers and saying something.

"Umm, Hinata-san… could you talk a little louder please?" Sakura asked kindly.

"I-I'm s-sorry Sa-Sakura-san." She said while looking down at the ground and fidgeting. Sakura wondered why she was apologizing to her.

Voicing her thoughts aloud, Hinata lowered her head further and her ears began to redden.

"Th-the o-other da-day I-I h-hit y-you a-and-" before she could continue Sakura cut her off with a quiet giggle, making a blush rise to her fellow classmate's cheeks and her shoulders to tense up defensively.

"Hinata-san it was a spar. You were supposed to try and hit me." The pinkette told her in a matter-of-fact tone then continued on, "You're really strong, ne, Hinata-san." The blush that spread across the heiress' face was enough to make the pinkette giggle again before her mood was dampened by the Hyuuga's next comment.

"Y-you're wrong Sakura-san, I'm not strong at all." Hinata said looking at the ground, the blush from earlier absent and replaced with an expression of sad acceptance.

Sakura looks at the girl in slight surprise wondering if she really meant that despite knowing Hinata wasn't the sort of person to be dishonest. In Sakura's opinion, Hinata could be one of the strongest students in the class. The only reason she wasn't was because she refuses to really fight anyone. If she did fight seriously, Sakura was sure that Hinata would be able to give Kiba or even Sasuke a run for their money. The Haruno couldn't understand why Hinata would think that and couldn't help herself from asking hesitantly, not wanting to upset the kind girl further.

"Ne, Hinata-san, what makes you think that?" Hinata pauses and takes a breath in and Sakura assumes that she's not going to answer but is surprised again when Hinata's soft voice graces the clearing.

"E-everyone s-says I w-won't make a-a good shinobi… and I-I don't like hurting people…" She said, shoulders shaking in a way that told Sakura she was on the verge of tears again making Sakura feel bad for prying, but she was concerned for the girl.

Thinking about what she said, Sakura knew being a good shinobi wasn't just about being strong. In fact, Sakura didn't really know what a 'good shinobi' was. She was from a civilian family, so her interaction with actual shinobi was limited to the academy, Ino's dad and her hero. What she did know for sure was that Hinata wasn't a weak person, she was just a good person.

"Hinata-san, do you want to be a shinobi?" Sakura asks her seriously causing the Hyuuga to pause before answering.

"It-it's expected of m-me…" Hinata replies before nervously adding, "but I… I want to pr-protect my little sister too. I want to- to be someone she can look up to."

Sakura smiled at her before looking up at the darkening sky.

"I don't really know what a 'good shinobi' is, but I... I think being kind isn't the same as being weak, it just means that you have more you care about and more you'll be willing to fight for when we're older."

Silence fell on the clearing following her words and unsettled, Sakura turned to look at her companion only to catch her staring at her thoughtfully. Sakura smiled shyly at her before ducking her head.

"Y-You're strong too, S-Sakura-san." Hinata told Sakura, surprising her with how honest she made the words sound. Sakura knew she wasn't very strong in comparison to the other girls so she was also quite surprised by the declaration.

"No I'm not." Sakura said quietly but truthfully, looking across at the target post she put up that was covered in gashes from kunai and shuriken practise. "But I promised I am going to get stronger," she looked back at Hinata and smiled before continuing, "That way I can protect my precious people too."

Hinata could only look on in admiration at Sakura and watch as determination filled her eyes. A sudden breeze blew through the clearing making both girls shiver. They didn't realize how long it'd been since they met but noticing the darkening sky, Hinata thought she'd been missing far too long.

Standing up she mumbled while standing up, "Ko-Niisan is p-probably worried. I s-should head b-back now…"

Assuming that this Ko person was her personal carer or guardian Sakura assumed this was her way of saying she had to leave. Feeling a little sad at the fact because she had enjoyed the Hyuuga heiress' company, Sakura decided that she would try to become friends with the girl.

"Ne, Hinata-san…" She said somewhat shyly while looking down at the grass she was still sitting on. "I'll be here tomorrow too, you know, if you want to meet up again. Or I'll see you at the academy?"

Looking back up at the lavender eyed girl she realized that she was surprised by her invitation and thought maybe she didn't find their companionship as comfortable as the rosette, but then she was nodding her head gently.

"I-I'll ask to c-come tomorrow to-too." She said while blushing then began to leave. Before she made it out of the clearing Sakura quickly yelled out, "Oh and Hinata-san please don't tell anyone about this place." She requested and was happy to see the Hyuuga nodding her head eagerly while smiling nervously.

"I w-won't S-Sakura-san."

.

.

As she made her way home, Sakura couldn't help but hope that she'd made a new friend in the kind Hyuuga. Despite Ino's reluctance in the past to befriend the girl, the warm feeling in her gut led Sakura to believe she'd made the right choice.

As she continued to walk with a smile on her face, Sakura was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of footsteps and a shout of "There you are!"

When she looked up, she realized that she was near the park by the river where most of the younger kids went after academy classes to play. However, they had all left already with their parents. Sakura's eyebrows knit together in confusion at the sight of the two girls now together in front of her.

In the time since her first attempt to stand up for herself, Sakura had never once come across Ami at the academy again. Sure she'd seen her a few times with who Sakura assumed were her parents at the markets but that was it. So watching her approach now was surprising for the Haruno especially considering the other girl behind her.

"We finally found you, forehead girl!" Ami said with a sneer on her face. "I heard that you got my cousin here in trouble last week." Ami said causing Sakura to realize the reason for Miki's dislike for her. Sakura had always thought it was because of Ino but now she realized it might be because of what happened with Ami too.

Said cousin was now inching to Sakura's side making her heart beat faster and tense even further. "I don't know what you're talking about." Sakura told them honestly. If Miki had gotten into trouble last week for some reason, Sakura knew it wasn't her fault.

"Don't lie!" Miki screeched. "You're the reason Iruka-sensei told me off in taijutsu class. You're the reason I got in trouble!"

Sakura still confused simply told them defensively, "I'm not lying."

"It doesn't matter." Ami said while moving closer to Sakura who took a step back. "I'm going to make you pay for everything!" She said then lunged.

Sakura moved out of the way then started to run up the steps of the park and towards the tree's but was stopped by Miki who had noticed what she was doing and blocked her path before punching her. Sakura went to block the second strike but was caught off guard when a pair of arms held her own back from behind.

Sakura cursed inwardly as she realized her mistake, forgetting she had two opponents. Panic began to overtake her as she watched Miki pull back again to hit her this time lower in the stomach.

"Told you you'd never be able to win in a real fight. You're too weak!" She said and punched her again in the stomach causing the air to be knocked out of her and her to keel forwards as her arms were released from behind. "Come on Ami-nee, she isn't worth our time." Miki said as she went to walk off but was stopped by her cousin.

"What are you doing?" Miki's panicked voice caused Sakura to jerk away from them and try to get away despite the pain in her stomach but she was stopped by a swift kick to her side.

"I'm teaching her a lesson." Miki said as she raised a kunai that Sakura hadn't noticed before. "This is what happens when you mess with us." Sakura frightened, looked to Miki to see if she would stop her but she had gone pale and was now shaking nervously.

"Ne, nee-chan, that's a bit much don't ya think, I don't want us to get into trouble with Baa-san." She said nervously to her cousin who just glared at her causing her younger cousin to back off.

"Hold her down, Miki. This is pay back for what I had to go through. Because of her I had to repeat my first year at the academy with little kids! Do you know how humiliating that is?!" She yelled causing both Miki and Sakura to flinch.

Sakura tried to scramble back to her feet but another kick in her side stopped her, then before she knew it someone was straddling her back and pushing her shoulders into the ground causing Sakura to whimper in pain. Her shoulder length hair was then wrenched up by a hand and she was face to face with the angry brown eyes of Ami.

Sakura started to struggle but the reflection of light off of the kunai caught her attention and her eyes widened in fear while her body began to tremble. Ami smirked at her before she brought the kunai down towards her head. Sakura tried to keep as still as possible and shut her eyes in fear.

When her hair was finally released, Sakura looked up and watched as short pink strands floated in the air around her as Ami threw her hair at her and began laughing.

"Now you should know not to think so much of yourself freak!" Ami said while sneering then kicking her one last time and walked away with a nervous Miki behind her.

Sakura slowly began to sit up while watching them walk away. From the sharp pain in her stomach she knew she was going to bruise, but she couldn't find it in her to care. Her thoughts were silent as she stood up and stepping over the fallen strands of her hair she made her way home.

When she entered her silent home, the sounds of creaking floor boards followed her footsteps as she made her way to her parent's room where she'd left her father's haori the week before.

Climbing onto the bed, she curled up into a ball and lay there with the haori held to her chest. Not long after, tears began to stream down her face as she thought about what happened. It felt like she'd only woken from a bad dream. But as her hand came up to stroke her short and uneven locks, she knew that it wasn't a nightmare. Curling further into herself, Sakura closed her eyes and fell asleep, hoping tomorrow would be better.

When she woke to the sound of people outside her parent's window, Sakura realized once again that the day before wasn't a dream. Wincing from pain, she got up to get ready for the academy and went to have a shower. As she got out she moved to the full length mirror to check for bruising she was sure she got from the day before.

And she'd been right. There was a small bruise on the side of her chin from Miki or Ami she wasn't sure, but what worried her more were the large dark bruises that were forming on her stomach. Touching them she flinched from the pain before pulling her clothes on in a careful manner.

As she looked at herself again in the mirror, she touched her hair and wondered what to say about it if anyone asked. She didn't want to get any of the teachers or parents involved again because she knew it would just start more trouble.

She thought about trying to cut it but knew that she'd probably do a worst job than it was at the moment. Her pale pink rosette hair that once reached just below her shoulders, had been cut unevenly at the back with the shortest strands being on her right side and only reaching just below her ears, and slowly getting longer as they moved around to the other side where the longest lengths reached the bottom of her neck. Her fringe which hadn't been gathered in Ami's hands when she cut it was still the same length, reaching just below her chin.

Getting the scissors out of the cupboard, Sakura tried to clip a little of the longer strands to try even them out but looking in the mirror again she knew she still looked ridiculous. Sakura began to think about how her parents were going to react when they saw her when an idea came to her.

Walking to the room she'd slept in, Sakura recalled the faze her mother went through where she started buying different sorts of bandannas to keep her hair back the last summer. Eventually she stopped when she cut her hair shorter, but Sakura realized that this would be a great way to cover what had been done to her hair without having to ask someone to cut it until later.

Digging into her mother's draws, Sakura went through them one by one tossing around clothes and underwear until she finally reached the bottom of the third draw and spotted a few bandannas. Pulling them out, Sakura examined them each before picking a dark red coloured one with thin white swirls on it.

She then bent to pick up all of the clothes she tossed around and began to fold them and put them back in the draws. As she reached for a piece of clothing on the floor near the bed she noticed something strange with one of the floor boards. Curiosity getting the better of her, she knelt on the floor and examined it.

Sakura wondered briefly if this was one of those secret safes that they were taught about in class, but knew that if that was the case, then her parents were obviously hiding something and she couldn't see them doing something like that.

Despite those thoughts, Sakura began tapping on the floor board, noticing that this one unlike the rest was raised slightly higher and the sound from tapping it was slightly hollow.

Sakura looked around the room for something before deciding to head to her own room and get a kunai for the board. Trying to use a kunai as a lever to undo a floor board probably wasn't the smartest thing she'd ever done. It took what felt like ten minutes of Sakura poking at the floor board with her kunai when her hand lost its grip and slipped on the small blade, cutting the inside of her palm.

Sakura hissed in pain and frustration looking at the cut on her hand that was now bleeding. Deciding it wasn't deep or wide enough to require stitches, she grabbed one of her mothers old bandannas and wrapped it around her hand before attacking the floor board with more ferocity than before. She was thankful when it finally gave way, and by then, Sakura's pain had been muted by her burning curiosity which had overcome any amount of guilt she might have felt at looking into something she probably wasn't supposed to.

As she lifted the short board up, Sakura didn't bother to think about what would happen if she were to find out these secrets or the affect that they could have on her or her family. She also didn't think about whether or not they should ever be revealed to people. Instead she picked up one of the scrolls and examined it.

In appearance it looked like an average scroll except when she tried to open it, it refused to budge. Sighing, Sakura thought about simply giving up. Looking at the scroll, she tossed it between her hands but was surprised when it started glowing bright blue. Remembering all of the academy warnings about chakra bombs and seals, Sakura dropped the scroll immediately and dived outside the room for cover.

When there were no sounds of doom heard for the next minute, with her heart beating fast the rosette poked her head around the corner to see if anything strange had happened and was surprised to find the unassuming scroll laying unrolled on the floor. Making her way over, Sakura picked it up nervously. However, that nervousness turned to confusion then dread as she began to read its contents.

_Certificate of Birth_

_Name: -_

_Birth date: March 28_

_Weight: 7 pounds_

_Height: 42.6 cm_

_Eye colour: Green_

_Hair colour: Pink_

_Place of Birth: Land of Fire_

_Father: -_

_Mother: Senju Tsunade_

_._

_._


End file.
